S
ince most college basketball teams, Wisconwhat will be a season of firsts, the Wisconsin
men's hockey team gets a dose of familiarity
when it opens its inaugural season of Big Ten play
against longtime rival Minnesota this weekend.
The Badgers and Gophers will meet this Friday
and Saturday in Minneapolis for the first time as Big
Ten hockey foes, a fitting beginning for teams that
are all too familiar with one another after 44 years
together in the WCHA.
After three byes in its last five weeks, UW head
coach Mike Eaves said his team will have to get its
juices pumping again when it returns to action this
weekend, but that shouldn't be hard facing the Gophers.
"I have no problem saying I hate the Gophers," junior defenseman Jake McCabe said. "I'm sure they
don't like me or our team very much either.
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"It's a good rivalry, and there's some bad blood,
but hopefully we get the best of them this weekend."
Adding fuel to the rivalry's fire this weekend is a
Minnesota teams that comes in as the top-ranked
team in the country, a title it has held for six-straight
weeks. The Gophers are 9-2-1 this season, including 6-1-1 at home, and the Badgers are expecting a
raucous and hostile atmosphere at Mariucci Arena
this weekend.
"That's the best part of (playing Minnesota), it's
always a hostile environment," senior forward Tyler
Barnes said. "They always get a good crowd, especially when we're in town. It's a big rivalry and it's
gong to be an exciting place to play."
Eaves added that success in that environment,
against a team like the Gophers, will not only be a
valuable test for Wisconsin, but help the nation take
notice of the Badgers.
